108 Sun Salutations is a live, web-broadcast fundraiser which will begin at 9:30 a.m. (Mountain Standard Time) on the morning of January 3rd, 2010. People will gather in the Radha Room at Yasodhara Ashram and across the globe to complete one of the key series of movements of Hatha Yoga 108 times. Join us online by tuning into our live broadcast feed at www.justin.tv/yasodhara. Enter the access code: light.

The event is organized by and for karma yogis participating in the Ashram’s Young Adult Program. The program grants youth the time, space, tools and guidance necessary for personal growth and evolution. Participants leave with a deepened understanding of Self and a greater perspective on life and the lessons it offers. The program is funded entirely by donations.

In the following video, several young adults currently living at the ashram share insights of what the Young Adult Program has meant to them. Below you will find instructions on how to perform a Sun Salutation and reflections from Swami Lalitananda’s book, The Inner Life of Asanas.

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Instructions for practicing the Sun Salutation, Surya Namaskar

Stand in the Mountain with hands in pranam, palms together in front of your chest.

Lift your arms overhead, stretch the whole body, and bend back slightly to greet the sun.

Extend forward from the hips into the Standing Forward Bend.

Move into a lunge, taking a big step back with your right leg. Open through the chest and look forward.

5. Extend the left leg back and move into the Plank position. Align your legs, hips, back and head in a straight line.
6. Bring your knees, chin and chest to the floor.
7. Place the legs and hips on the floor, firm the lower body and lift the head and chest in Cobra.
8. Tuck your toes under and lift your hips, moving into the Downward Dog.

9. Step the right leg forward, returning to a lunge.
10. Step the left leg forward, releasing into the Standing Forward Bend.
11. Lift your arms overhead and bend back slightly, opening to the Light.
12. Circle your arms out to the sides and return to the starting position with your hands in pranam.
13. Repeat to the other side for one complete cycle.

Reflect on the significance of bowing before the sun, of greeting the day with gratitude. Do the Sun Salutation with devotion, feeling the movements as a prayer.

Explore a cycle in your life, bringing an issue into the Sun Salutation and observing your response in each movement

Think of the sun as symbolic of the Light of understanding. As you do the Salutation, visualize this Light filling your entire body and mind. What is your understanding now?

Yasodhara Ashram will be hosting the 108 Sun Salutations Fundraiser at 9:30 a.m. on January 3rd, 2010. To pledge a participant, make a donation or find more information, click here. You may also call 1-800-661-8711 or email yashram@yasodhara.org. Tojoin the event on Facebook, click here. For custom printable posters for hosting your own event, click here.